Special delivery: Dover police provide food baskets to more than 100 residents

Sunday

Dec 23, 2012 at 3:15 AM

By Andrea Bulfinchabulfinch@fosters.com

DOVER — Members of the Dover Police Department, their families and volunteers met at the Dover Housing Authority facility on Hampshire Circle Saturday morning to prepare and distribute 150 Christmas food baskets.

Police Chief Anthony Colarusso said this is the 35th year the Dover Police Charities program has helped needy families throughout the city with the food baskets.

“We’ve always delivered [the baskets] on the Saturday closest to Christmas,” he said.

Families are either self-referred, or referred through schools and local churches.

Stuffing, vegetables, biscuits, turkeys and other items filled the baskets that were being delivered to families throughout the morning.

The food is either donated or purchased by monetary donations given throughout the year and after the food basket effort kicks-off following Thanksgiving.

“The community has been very generous year after year,” Colarusso said.

Businesses like Durham Market Place, Nemo Equipment in Dover, the Dover School system and Lindt Chocolate.

He said between this campaign by the police department, the toy drives held by the fire department and efforts done through Dover Community Services, intentions to help those in need within the community work out pretty well.

“If you look at the city as a whole, we’re coordinated. So we’re pretty happy about that,” he said.

Any funds left over from the food basket drive is placed into an account for DPC and used throughout the remainder of the year to help families and children with other necessities like clothing or school supplies.